French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Topics without replies are pruned every 365 days. Not moderated.

Moderator: Dux

User avatar

Topic author
Shafpocalypse Now
Lifetime IGer
Posts: 21382
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:26 pm

French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Shafpocalypse Now »

Found this interesting.

http://www.warriorlodge.com/blogs/news/ ... fghanistan
What follows is an account from a French ISAF soldier that was stationed with American Warfighters in Afghanistan sometime in the past 4 years. This was copied and translated from an editorial French newspaper.
A NOS FRERES D’ARMES AMERICAINS

"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events". Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company.

They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever State they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other. Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine (Heh. More like Waffle House and McDonalds) - they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans.



And they are impressive warriors! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.Here we discover America as it is often depicted: their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley.


And combat? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks: they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the enemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting: they just charge! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short.Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that: the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the hearth of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people who provides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location: books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission. And that is a first shock to our preconceptions: the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention.



(This is the main area where I'd like to comment. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Kipling knows the lines from Chant Pagan: 'If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white/remember it's ruin to run from a fight./ So take open order, lie down, sit tight/ And wait for supports like a soldier./ This, in fact, is the basic philosophy of both British and Continental soldiers. 'In the absence of orders, take a defensive position.' Indeed, virtually every army in the world. The American soldier and Marine, however, are imbued from early in their training with the ethos: In the Absence of Orders: Attack! Where other forces, for good or ill, will wait for precise orders and plans to respond to an attack or any other 'incident', the American force will simply go, counting on firepower and SOP to carry the day.

This is one of the great strengths of the American force in combat and it is something that even our closest allies, such as the Brits and Aussies (that latter being closer by the way) find repeatedly surprising. No wonder is surprises the hell out of our enemies.)



We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.

To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of their military excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".


Much of this the various veterans reading will go 'Well, duh. Of course we do our 'camp chores' and stand our posts in good order. There's a reason for them and if we didn't we'd get our heads handed to us eventually. And, yeah, we're in shape. Makes battle easier. The more you sweat, the less you bleed.'

What is hard for most people to comprehend is that that attitude represented only the most elite units of the past. Current everyday conventional boring 'leg infantry' units exceed the PT levels and training levels of most Special Forces during the Vietnam War. They exceed both of those as well as IQ and educational levels of: Waffen SS, WWII Rangers, WWII Airborne and British 'Commando' units during WWII. Their per-unit combat-functionality is essentially unmeasurable because it has to be compared to something and there's nothing comparable in industrial period combat history.

This group is so much better than 'The Greatest Generation' at war that WWII vets who really get a close look at how good these kids are stand in absolute awe.


Everyone complains about the quality of 'the new guys.' Don't. The screw-ups of this modern generation are head and shoulders above the 'high-medium' of any past group. Including mine.So much of 'The scum of the earth, enlisted for drink.'

This is 'The Greatest Generation' of soldiers.

They may never be equalled.

User avatar

Fat Cat
Jesus Christ®
Posts: 41334
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:54 pm
Location: 悪を根付かせるな

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Fat Cat »

It's nice to hear, I wonder if it's legit.
Image
"I have longed for shipwrecks, for havoc and violent death.” - Havoc, T. Kristensen

User avatar

nafod
Lifetime IGer
Posts: 13101
Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:01 pm
Location: Looking in your window

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by nafod »

Team America...fuck yeah
Don’t believe everything you think.


The Ginger Beard Man
Sgt. Major
Posts: 4376
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:27 pm
Location: 4th largest city in America

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by The Ginger Beard Man »

That high regard may be mutual.
I may have posted this here before, but a few years ago I heard a National guardsman from NY, from the Fighting 69th, who had just returned from Afghanistan, say very good things about the French troops he served with. The mountain troops with the big pizza-like hats.
Same guy said the Germans were useless.
Blaidd Drwg wrote:Disengage from the outcome and do work.
Jezzy Bell wrote:Use a fucking barbell, pansy.

User avatar

Fat Cat
Jesus Christ®
Posts: 41334
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:54 pm
Location: 悪を根付かせるな

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Fat Cat »

German army is notoriously shitty.
Image
"I have longed for shipwrecks, for havoc and violent death.” - Havoc, T. Kristensen

User avatar

Kazuya Mishima
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 6394
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:11 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Kazuya Mishima »

The Ginger Beard Man wrote:That high regard may be mutual.
I may have posted this here before, but a few years ago I heard a National guardsman from NY, from the Fighting 69th, who had just returned from Afghanistan, say very good things about the French troops he served with. The mountain troops with the big pizza-like hats.
Same guy said the Germans were useless.
Have heard the same in regard to French soldiers. They are undeserving of the old jokes about surrendering and retreating.

User avatar

Batboy2/75
Starship Trooper
Posts: 7670
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 3:58 am
Location: Pumping Elizebeth Shue's Ass!

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Batboy2/75 »

The Germans and Italians were worthless when I trained with them and we were training with some of their best. Of the old Western Powers, only England and France retain any warrior ethos and or disciple.
Arms are the only true badge of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of the free man from the slave.

I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.


Image

User avatar

johno
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 7905
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:36 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by johno »

I trained with Brit 2 Paras in '85, a few years after the Falkland Islands war. They seemed like good troops. So were the Ghurkas.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

W.B. Yeats


Tirofijo
Sarge
Posts: 139
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:23 am

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Tirofijo »

I wonder about the authenticity as well. Some things don't ring true. However, I think there's a natural tendency to look at other troops with respect because you aren't privy to the flaws and low morale and other issues.
----------------------------
Speaking of Italians, I was co-located with Italian troops in '07.

Italians were paying the Taliban not to attack them in Herat. The rare times they left the wire, they had Italian flags painted on each vehicle and flying from every antenna (lest they be mistaken for other troops.)

In fact, some blame the Italians for the death of 10 French soldiers in 2008. The French went out lightly armed and unprepared. Got ambushed and took heavy casualties. They didn't think the Taliban was in the area, or at least not in the numbers they encountered. They had recently taken over the area from the Italians, who had not seen a lot of fighting. What they didn't know that the area was lousy with Taliban, but the Italians had paid them not to attack.

--------------

The only joint mission we did with the Italians was a single medcap (set up a quick med clinic in a remote village and our battalion surgeon and medics treated anyone that wanted treatment) and the Italians left in the middle of the day without telling anyone and drove back to the base.

There's a funny story about us forgetting to tell the Italians we were demo'ing unexploded ordnance. When the the shot went off (which was much, much louder than anyone anticipated), the Italians freaked out and ran to the bunkers. I went over an delivered the news that it was only us taking care of some UXO. They were literally shaking with fear and cursed me. Haha. A good memory.

User avatar

SubClaw
Top
Posts: 1975
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2011 5:01 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by SubClaw »

British and Spanish soldiers are hard as fuck too.
You ever seen a cycling plumber who wrestles with small calves, forearms and neck? Didn't think so.

User avatar

Turdacious
Lifetime IGer
Posts: 21341
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:54 am
Location: Upon the eternal throne of the great Republic of Turdistan

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Turdacious »

IMHO it varies between nation and unit. For most units, there is a first team (which takes the first deployment) and a second team (that takes the second). The first team is generally head and shoulders above the second.

Estonians need to be added to the BAMF list though.
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule

User avatar

Bobby
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 5552
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:41 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Bobby »

Turdacious wrote:IMHO it varies between nation and unit. For most units, there is a first team (which takes the first deployment) and a second team (that takes the second). The first team is generally head and shoulders above the second.

Estonians need to be added to the BAMF list though.
Seen some estonian soldiers at Stockholm airport (there is a place outside of Stockholm where they train for missions abroad).All were tall fuckers.
You`ll toughen up.Unless you have a serious medical condition commonly refered to as
"being a pussy".


Shapecharge
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 8509
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:59 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Shapecharge »

But Bobby you're a midget, no?

User avatar

tough old man
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 7549
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:43 pm
Location: Hell

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by tough old man »

Ghurkas rock. They always impress the hell out of me.
"I am the author of my own misfortune, I don't need a ghost writer" - Ian Dury


"Legio mihi nomen est, quia multi sumus."

User avatar

Bobby
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 5552
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:41 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Bobby »

Shapecharge wrote:But Bobby you're a midget, no?
If 6 6 feet 2 inches makes me a dwarf.
You`ll toughen up.Unless you have a serious medical condition commonly refered to as
"being a pussy".


TerryB
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 9697
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 1:17 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by TerryB »

Bobby wrote:
Shapecharge wrote:But Bobby you're a midget, no?
If 6 6 feet 2 inches makes me a dwarf.
BOOM
"Know that! & Know it deep you fucking loser!"

Image

User avatar

Turdacious
Lifetime IGer
Posts: 21341
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:54 am
Location: Upon the eternal throne of the great Republic of Turdistan

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Turdacious »

Bobby wrote:
Turdacious wrote:IMHO it varies between nation and unit. For most units, there is a first team (which takes the first deployment) and a second team (that takes the second). The first team is generally head and shoulders above the second.

Estonians need to be added to the BAMF list though.
Seen some estonian soldiers at Stockholm airport (there is a place outside of Stockholm where they train for missions abroad).All were tall fuckers.
True story-- An Estonian Commander gets asked how his platoon/detachment does door breaches (at a time when the normal protocol was to use a battering ram), he said "We have two big guys." He gets asked again. He motions for two guys to stand up, and repeats his answer. The two big guys weren't that tall, but they were big.

The Estonians I knew had a rep for taking tough missions, getting results, and doing very minimal property damage in the process. They would roll out in an open bed five ton at a time when everyone else had a lot more armor.
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule

User avatar

Bobby
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 5552
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:41 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Bobby »

T>1200 wrote:
Bobby wrote:
Shapecharge wrote:But Bobby you're a midget, no?
If 6 6 feet 2 inches makes me a dwarf.
BOOM
Should be 6 feet and not 6 6 feet.
You`ll toughen up.Unless you have a serious medical condition commonly refered to as
"being a pussy".

User avatar

Bud Charniga's grape ape
Top
Posts: 1093
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:30 pm

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by Bud Charniga's grape ape »

Saw a video recently of some Polynesian soldiers -- maybe Tongan? -- who had been in Afghanistan doing base security for the Brits. The video was of the Polynesians doing a Haka dance for the Brits as they were leaving Af.

Those were some big motherfucking soldiers.

User avatar

powerlifter54
Sergeant Commanding
Posts: 7978
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2005 5:46 pm
Location: TX

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by powerlifter54 »

Mongolians did perimeter security my last rotation. Scary looking dudes.
"Start slowly, then ease off". Tortuga Golden Striders Running Club, Pensacola 1984.

"But even snake wrestling beats life in the cube, for me at least. In measured doses."-Lex


gist718
Sarge
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:27 am

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by gist718 »

Brits could hump some heavy ass rucks all day, super fit fuckers. Lithuanians looked scary. Italians were sunbathing in Salerno, not a pretty site.

User avatar

odin
Sgt. Major
Posts: 3155
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:20 am

Re: French Impression of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

Post by odin »

johno wrote:I trained with Brit 2 Paras in '85, a few years after the Falkland Islands war. They seemed like good troops. So were the Ghurkas.

I have some mates who are ex-paras. They're all unhinged. They don't retire very well.
Don't try too hard, don't not try too hard

Post Reply